Utah: What you need to know about the E. coli outbreak on romaine lettuce

The E. coli outbreak on romaine lettuce has hit Utah. The outbreak has killed one person and sickened nearly 150 others. Utah is now one of the 29 affected across the country. Jack Wilbur from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, joined Brian Carlson, to help us better understand what’s happening.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expanded its warning about an E. coli outbreak connected to romaine lettuce to cover all forms of romaine, including whole heads and hearts of romaine grown in the Yuma, Arizona, growing area. A previous warning was limited to chopped forms of romaine, including salads and salad mixes. Now, the CDC is warning consumers not to buy or eat romaine lettuce at a grocery store or restaurant unless you can confirm it’s not from the Yuma, Arizona area.

Unless you know where the lettuce came from, consumers anywhere in the U.S. who have any store-bought romaine lettuce at home should not eat it and should throw it away. This goes even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. Product labels often do not identify growing regions; so, throw out any romaine lettuce if you’re uncertain about where it was grown.